Effect of thermal boundary condition and turbulent models on the combustion simulation of ethylene-fueled scramjet combustor

Wall thermal boundary conditions and turbulent models can affect flow and combustion simulations but are seldom considered in the turbulent modeling of supersonic combustors. This work investigated the effect of thermal boundary conditions and four turbulent models on turbulent combustion in a cavity-stabilized scramjet combustor. Results showed that the thermal boundary condition had a noticeable influence on the temperature fields. Changing the thermal boundary condition from zero gradient to a fixed lower temperature considerably reduced the maximum temperature but did not affect the temperature distribution. The fixed temperature boundary condition generated a slightly larger reaction heat release near the upper region of the cavity. However, the mass fraction of carbon dioxide was low for a fixed low temperature. The pressure increased near the rear of the cavity but decreased elsewhere at a fixed temperature. Reynolds-averaged models (k-epsilon, k-omega, and realizable k-epsilon) tend to over-predict the temperature and turbulent kinetic energy but under-predict the mass fraction of carbon dioxide. The detached Eddy simulation also under-predicts carbon dioxide but predicts a more accurate temperature.